On this day, July 17, in 1918, the Communists murdered Russian Tsar Nicholas II Romanov and his family. Tsar Nicholas II did not live to see the end of the First World War or Serbia's glorious victory in that war.

Sincerely,

Aleksandra Rebic

****

By Paul Gilbert:

A rare historical figure is the subject of a graffiti drawing in Belgrade, Serbia. An enormous image of Emperor Nicholas II can now be found on Ulitsa Tsara Nikolaja II, in the Vrachapy [Vrachar] district of the capital. I regret that the artist is unknown.

The Serbian people had great respect for the last Russian Tsar, never forgetting his coming to their aid in World War I.

On 24th July, 1914, Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia sent Tsar Nicholas II the following telegram:

"Yesterday the Austro-Hungarian Government presented to the Serbian Government a note about the murders at Serajevo. Ever since this horrible crime was committed Serbia has condemned it. We are willing to investigate the plot and we will severely punish any Serbians who are found to be involved. But, the demands from Austria-Hungary are unnecessarily humiliating for Serbia. However, they say we must agree to all of them in forty-eight hours or Austria-Hungary is threatening us with war. We are prepared to accept some of the conditions but we need more time and the Austro-Hungarian army is already preparing for war.

"We are unable to defend ourselves and we beg your Majesty to help us. The friendship which your Majesty has always shown toward Serbia gives us confidence that our appeal to your noble heart will be answered."

There is much debate over who is the legitimate heir to the Russian throne, and bitter dispute within the family itself.[6] Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna is considered by some to be the legitimate heir.[7] She is the only child of Grand Duke Vladimir who died in 1992, a great-grandson of Tsar Alexander II, whom some considered the last male dynast of the House of Romanov. Some of her opponents believe she is ineligible to claim the throne because she was born of a marriage that would have been deemed morganatic under Russia's monarchy, which was abolished in 1917.[6] Others oppose her for reasons similar to those of anti-Orleanists: her father's and grandfather's perceived disloyalty and dynastic ambition are seen as vitiating any rights which might otherwise have belonged to her branch of the former dynasty.

Still others maintain that the severe, pre-revolutionary marital rules of the Romanovs leave no one who can claim to be rightful heir to the dynasty's legacy. Others recognize Nicholas Romanov, Prince of Russia as head of the family.[8] A descendant of Emperor Nicholas I, he is the elected president of the Romanov Family Association, which consists of most living descendants of the Romanov emperors.

I'm reading a very interesting book about that period: Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went To War in 1914 by Christopher Clark. The entire first section (of three) is a description of how Serbian history and royal rivalry allowed the Black Hand to grow into a terrorist organization reminiscent of al-Qaeda. Amazing stuff.

>>>Time they honor the Russian Czarhe started WW I, and the ruin of Europe, to defend the Serbs. Without the Czar, No WW I, no communist Soviet, no depression, no Hitler, and no WW II.<<<

Exactly, Nicolas II was one of the most incompetent leaders of 20th century. The rise of Japan is his fault too.

AFAIK, right before communist takeover he had an audience with the British ambassador. He told Tsar it’s needed to take step to get back credibility of his people. Tsar was amused and said they are people who needs to earn his credibility back. Such a nice guy, isn’t it?

"Time they honor the Russian Czarhe started WW I, and the ruin of Europe, to defend the Serbs. Without the Czar, No WW I, no communist Soviet, no depression, no Hitler, and no WW II."

With all due respect, Forward the Light Brigage, this is nonsense. Neither the Russians or the Serbs are responsible for causing World War I and thus the Second World War that followed. The Serbs were used as the "pawns" to justify the actions of the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and later Bulgaria) that had been planning and "gunning" for war for at least 50 years prior to the Sarajevo assassination in 1914.

What they did NOT count on was how big things would get.

Current revisionists are going to be doing their best to shift the burden of blame for WWI onto the Russians and the Serbs, in other words, nullifying the Versailles Treaty, which will create a whole other set of collateral issues that will then have to be dealt with. The Orthodox Slavs will become the usual scapegoats.

The centennial of the Great War will provide an excellent opportunity to revisit and re-evaluate the causes and effects of that cataclysmic event that changed the world and to invalidate some of the long held myths that have scapegoated the Serbs as being the instigators.

It will also provide the opportunity to give credit to the Serbs for their invaluable contributions to the Allied victory, especially the shortening of that war from what was being projected.

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